Free Microsoft Resources Enhance Office for Teachers and Students

With 95% of students and 97% of educators worldwide using Microsoft’s productivity suite, the company plays a critical role in education at a global level.

In this regard, the software giant is using the back-to-school season as an excuse to release free resources designed to enhance Office for both teachers and students.

And as teachers and students are gearing up to go back to the classroom soon, they are now able to take advantage of new Office 2010 add-ins, along with education templates and tutorials associated with the productivity suite.

Of course, Office 2010 RTM has been available for purchase for a few months now. At the same time, Microsoft unveiled a great deal with Office Professional Academic 2010, offering this specific edition of the suite for as low as $79.95 via the College Ready Career Ready website.

"As a technology leader and a company with a global voice, what we have to do is put our resources, technology and people into driving not only a deeper dialogue in the education industry, but leverage our resources and our commitment to education and continue to be a catalyst for change," noted Anthony Salcito, vice president of Microsoft Education.

The Interactive Classroom Add-in and the Mathematics Add-in are the two templates offered by Microsoft for students and teachers running Office.

According to the Redmond company the Interactive Classroom Add-in is designed to boost interaction and collaboration in the classroom.

The Mathematics Add-in can be leveraged in order to enhance Word and OneNote documents with the addition of dynamic 3D graphs and charts for complex math problems and concepts.

Microsoft is also offering “the Learning Essential Templates - a set of pre-designed Office templates created specifically for the education setting. From grading rubrics to field trip planning, Microsoft offers templates that will help educators get more done faster.

[And the] teacher how-to materials for OneNote 2010 and Office Web Apps [that] will help educators learn how to use these products in the classroom. With the teaching guides, videos, lesson plans and easy step-by-step instructions, teachers can get up and running quickly.”

Office Home and Business 2010 RTM Build 14.0.4760.1000 is available for download here.

Office Home and Student 2010 RTM Build 14.0.4760.1000 is available for download here.

Office Professional 2010 RTM Build 14.0.4760.1000 is available for download here.